my maternity leave by the numbers

12:
Number of weeks I was home after Ruby's birth (thankfully I was able to use all of my sick and vacation leave [haven't taken a vacation day since Jan!] so that I was still paid while I was out on leave, making me one of the lucky ones - the maternity leave benefits in this country are abysmal)
840:
Number of diapers changed (based on a calculation of 10 diapers a day - in the beginning this # was closer to 15 and several diapers fell to the wayside in less than 5 minutes, and now it's probably closer to 6)
672:
Number of feedings (8 per day)
26,880:
Total estimated amount of time in minutes spent feeding the babe (using an average of 40 min per feeding) - it's a huge commitment!
252:
Number of outfit changes (using an average of 3 per day)
84:
Number of walks taken (took one almost every day and some days took 2 - thank you Woodcroft Trails!)
19:
Number of episodes of my so called life that i watched via netflix (sadly this is also the total number of episodes ever aired - such a great show that was canceled way too early, but i digress)
20?:
Total number of hours of sleep I got - *this is based more on a feeling than hard evidence
Infinite:
Amount of kisses, hugs and cuddles showered on Ruby
Unable to be calculated:
Just how much in love I fell with my beautiful little girl - I am sad to return to work, but still so blessed to be able to come home to such a sweet, amazing baby!

Poet's Walk

On the Saturday of Thanksgiving weekend, we ventured to nearby Hillsborough NC to Ayr Mount, a gorgeous plantation house that has a beautiful surrounding trail, the Poet's Walk, winding along the Eno River. It is truly an enchanting place and a great backdrop for some photos.

hanging with the kohl family

Taking a train ride around the park - check out the rainbow on Ruby's face - no idea how that happened

Feeding the ducks - Luci and Tami and Chris's 3 adorable children - Ashley, Dallas and Sophie

we mined for gems which we all really enjoyed, when we got home Luci wanted to examine and sort her gems (last picture below) - she was very excited that she had a 'ruby'!

It's become a tradition of sorts to get together with of my best friends, Tami and her family the day after Thanksgiving. The Kohl clan reside in Ohio, but around Turkey Day typically visit Tami's dad who lives in Charlotte. We have gotten together almost every year since 2006!
This year we met up in Salisbury NC at Dan Nicholas Park. About 15 minutes from our destination, Luci proceeded to vomit an extraordinary amount of liquid all over herself and the backseat - it was really quite impressive (in the grossest of ways). I think the poor girl was car sick (and no, it wasn't because of mommy's driving) - unfortunately, I only had a spare pair of pants and underwear for her to change into - I did, however, have a bag of baby clothing that I've been meaning to drop off at Goodwill, so Luci squeezed herself into a 6-9 month old top! and I managed to somewhat clean her jacket off so she wouldn't freeze to death. Anyhow, in spite of our misadventures in puke, and the fact that almost half of the attractions at this park were closed for the season (which was not communicated on their web site!), we ended up having a really good time. And I always love spending time with Tami :)

thanksgiving 2011

Ruby's 1st Thanksgiving was a great day. She wore the same Thanksgiving outfit that I wore my first Thanksgiving WAY back in 1977 and that Luci more recently wore in 2008.
We had a lovely Thanksgiving meal at Auntie Heather & Uncle Jeff's house (unfortunately, no pictures were taken) where all the traditional favorites were present. We hardly saw Luci and Eme because they are so terrific at entertaining themselves and Ruby was her typical sweet self - just smiling away.

Luci declared that she was thankful for:

1. her cousin Eme
2. her grandmothers
3. her little sister

occasionally 'mommy and daddy' were mentioned. She also has said that she is lucky to have:

1. a bus stop near her house (one of her favorite things to do is to take the bus 1 stop from our house to her school)
2. a pool near her house
3. a playground near her house
4. her cousin
5. her little sister
   

I am extremely thankful for my wonderful family, my health and for coffee and red wine!

(*this marks the 100th post since this blog was created back in July 2008 - I'm really not too sure who reads it these days, but I am also incredibly thankful to those of you who do!)

Sunshine on a Cloudy Day

I still have not gotten used to the fact that we have TWO children. It is surreal/anxiety-inducing/wonderful to be able to say "our daughters". We are so blessed. Here are some recent photos of our gorgeous girls.

Ain't It Grand

There's no underestimating the importance of grandparents in Ruby and Luci's lives.
They are fortunate enough to have Kai's mom and Peter (Taty and Captain) live very close to us, making it possible for them to spend time together whenever they would like. The time that my parents (Mimi and Poppi) who live in NY and Kai's dad (Paw-Paw) and Qing who live in California get to spend with the girls is far and few between, but special and extremely important nonetheless. We are very blessed that in Ruby's first 2 months she was able to meet all of her grandparents. Here are some photos of her and Luci with Mimi, Poppi, Paw-Paw and Qing.

the Homestead Wedding

On October 22nd, the unexpected happened.... Just Jonas (finally) got hitched! to a wonderful gal, Maggie. The wedding took place on the land Jonas bought many moons ago and which he has since built (through blood, sweat and tears of several helping hands) an incredible house on. I think it is so awesome that they said their vows standing right in front of the front door to their future abode.

Our family had an excellent time at the festivities. They had a bounce house and pumpkin carving, so Luci was in heaven. She was also, along with cousin Eme, a 'flower' girl (the girls ended up handing out birdseed rather than flowers). Luci really loved the sense of honor that being a flower girl bestowed upon her. In fact, I think she loved it a little too much. There was a girl about her age who showed up wearing a princess dress and Luci and Eme discussed how she shouldn't be dressed up because she wasn't one of the flower girls. And so it begins.
Anyhow both Luci and Eme looked absolutely adorable in their beautiful dresses that Taty bought for them. After the ceremony and a potluck dinner, Kai gave his best man speech, which struck the perfect balance of humor and sincerity. And then there was dancing! And I witnessed my eldest child going crazy on the dance floor - she did not want to stop dancing - especially with Jonas or Maggie - at one point Luci and Eme were in the middle of a circle of dancers and everyone was singing the Beastie Boys 'Fight for Your Right' to them - it was pretty hilarious.
And where was precious Ruby during all of this celebration? She was snug in the Baby Bjorn sleeping away. She behaved perfectly and we are so thankful that she allowed us to enjoy this family wedding.

We are so happy for the fantastic couple and wish them many many years of love and laughter.